Treasure in the sky
by dax0042
Summary: Kit Cloudkicker and many others are on an adventure looking for the treasure in the sky. I'll take any reviews you give me.
1. The story begins

The story begins.

It was an early winter morning in Cape Suzette when twelve year old Kit Cloudkicker awoke to the sound of his alarm clock. He hurried to get his green sweater on and went to his parent's room. Instead of finding his mother and father, he only found a note saying that they had to gone on some important business and he was to stay with friends at the Higher for Hire company. Kit called the office and asked to stay with them until his parents came back, so Rebecca Cunningham and her daughter, Molly, picked him up.

Kit's best friend and mentor, Baloo, worked at Higher for Hire. With these friends Kit felt safe. Six months after moving, Kit awoke near midnight to hear someone banging on the front door. Rebecca hurried to find out who was making such an infernal racket.

When she opened the door a large, heavy, tan cat came into the living room. He carried a black duffel bag and wore a blue pilot's hat. The fur on his hands was ragged and his teeth were yellow and nasty.

"And what would your name be?" asked Rebecca.

The cat turned to her and said, "Captain-you may call me that. I see you have a room for rent."

Baloo came to see who was making all the noise. He stopped and stared at the captain in astonishment. Both men stared at one another, but said nothing. It was clear to Rebecca and Kit that Baloo and the captain knew, but disliked each other. The captain paid for the room, and left without saying a word.

The next morning, Kit and Molly were playing under the dock when they overheard Baloo and the captain arguing.

"You should have not come here," Baloo snapped, "I am not the man I used to be." The captain only shook his head.

"You know that you will always be the man who left your friends for a female," the captain said with a laugh.

The anger in Baloo's eyes made the captain stop laughing. "Rebecca is the woman I plan to marry," Baloo said pushing the captain to the dock. "And I plan to be the best father Molly can have in spite of my past."

The captain just scoffed and left the dock.

That night the captain was a very silent, but kept a close eye on little Molly and Kit, as if they were part of his crew. Every day he would walk to the cliffs overlooking the sea, and with an old sniper scope he would watch the horizon, as if he feared something was coming after him. During the evening, he sat with his back up against wall facing the door to the office, smoking a cigarette and drinking lots of rum. Every day when he came back from walking he would ask Rebecca if any pilots had come looking for him, but her answer was always no.

One day after school the captain took Kit aside and promised him ten dollars on the first of every month if he would only keep a sharp lookout for a brown wolf with a blue captain's outfit. Kit was to fetch the captain the moment the wolf appeared.

The image of this frightening wolf haunted Kit's dreams and caused him to wake up in the night. The captain had told dreadful tales of pirating, murder, and wild storms that could bring down a fleet of B-17 bombers. When the captain told his stories, his face would turn red, and he would raise his voice so that anyone could hear him.

One day a cat who knew Rebecca very well came to Higher for Hire. Her name was Abby Sinian, and she was a doctor in medicine and history. During the following months, Dr. Sinian visited her friend many times. She took an immediate dislike to the captain because he made crude remarks about her. One evening the two of them came to sharp disagreement. In the middle of the argument the captain drew a large knife from his pocket! "Listen to me, woman," he growled, as he waved his knife in front of her face. "You will show me respect, or I will pin you to the wall with this blade!"

The doctor never so much as flinched at the captain's threat, but spoke to him in a calm tone of voice, "If you do not put down that knife, I will make sure that you will spend the rest of your life in jail." The captain had to control his temper around the doctor or risk being arrested.

A few days later, Kit got terrible news that his mother and father had been killed in a car crash. Kit stayed in his room all day crying. Baloo could hear him, and made up his mind to adopt Kit if it could be arranged.

A few weeks later, Molly told Kit that Baloo had asked her mother to marry him and that Dr. Sinian had advised her to accept his proposal.

"Baloo is such a clown," Rebecca said, scratching her head. "Why would I want to do that?"

"It would be good for Molly," said the doctor, "and you could provide a home for Kit as well." For the rest of the day, Rebecca thought long and hard on what Sinian had said. Finally she decided to marry Baloo, but it would have to wait for the right time.


	2. The captain's last fight

It was not long after the proposal when some mysterious events would finally rid Higher for Hire of the captain. It was mid-summer, and a powerful storm had come in, making people stay indoors. Kit knew that it was foolhardy to be out in this weather, but the captain still went to the cliffs anyway.

Not long afterward, Kit heard the front door open. He turned to see a lizard in an old lab coat standing in the doorway. His teeth were sharp and very clean, and he spoke in dark hissing way. He sniffed the air, turning his gaze to a table in far corner of the room, then turned toward Kit.

"Is this table for my friend Hal?" He asked with a hiss looking back at the table.

"I don't know your friend Hal, it's for the captain." Kit said. The lizard then asked him to describe the captain, so Kit told him what the captain looked like. The lizard smiled evilly in recognition.

"That's my friend Hal, all right." He said moving menacingly like a phantom toward Kit. Just then the sound of footsteps was heard outside. "We should wait right here and give Hal a little surprise when he comes in," the lizard said, as the captain came into the office.

When the captain saw the lizard, he had the look of a man who had just seen a ghost.

"Come on, Hal, you know me. Your old shipmate," said the lizard licking his teeth.

"Viper!" gasped the captain.

"That's right," laughed the lizard. "And I think that it's time you and I had a little talk."

Viper demanded that Kit bring two bottles of rum while he and the captain had their little talk. When he returned they were seated on either side of the table.

Kit did his best to listen to their conversation, but he could hear nothing but low voices. Soon the voices grew louder and louder.

Viper was asking Hal things that Kit did not understand, like maps and such.

"Where is the map, Hal?" asked Viper in dark tone, but Hal just sat there with his hand in his pocket.

"No, I will not give you the map!" shouted Hal, as he banged his fist on the table. Viper stared at him with a wicked glare.

"You'll fry," taunted Viper, as he took a drink from his bottle. "I think you need to calm down and let me have a look at the map you keep in your bag," hissed the lizard as he pointed to the captain's bag.

"Damn you, and the crew that brought you here!" Hal shouted, drawing his knife. Viper snapped into action, ready for a good fight.

Kit watched in horror as chairs and tables were knocked down, and the men grappled with one another. He saw the captain sink his knife into Viper's arm, as Viper tried to strike at him with his claws. In the middle of the fight the captain was knocked to the floor by a quick blow from the lizard's tail.

Viper ran for the door, but the captain got back to his feet and gave chase. As they reached the door, the captain aimed a blow at Viper that surely would have killed him, had it not been for a low hanging rope.

Once out on the road, Viper, in spite his of his wound, ran away and disappeared into the storm. The captain stood there, holding his side. As he made his way inside, he fell to knees. Kit rushed over to him and saw that the captain had fallen on one of the bottles, lodging a piece of glass deeply in his side.

"Kit," he said, "you're the only one here that I can depend on. I need a drink. Get me some rum, Kit." After he drank, he said, "You know I have told you to look out for a wolf in a blue captain's outfit." Kit tried to tell him that he needed to rest, so he could call the paramedics, but then they heard it, the sound of wood tapping the ground. Slowly, Kit walked out of the office and there in front of him was a man, hunched over and wearing a hooded outfit that looked like it was from the dark ages. He was obviously blind, and he had a cane in his hand.

"Will someone tell a poor blind man where or in what part of this country he is now in?" he asked in a wheezing tone.

Kit told him that he was at Higher for Hire in Cape Suzette. With that, the blind man asked him to show him inside. Kit wasn't sure that he should do this, but he couldn't leave him outside in this storm, so he reached out to lead him in.

As Kit reached for the man's hand, he gripped Kit's hand like a vise and pulled the young cub close to him.

"Now, boy," he said, "you take me to the captain."

Kit tried to refuse, but his grip tightened until it was like iron. All Kit could do was take the blind man to the captain.

"When you see the captain, you will say "Here's a friend of yours, Hal," said the blind man in a raspy voice.

As Kit and the blind man entered the office, the captain looked up, and fear overtook him. He tried to move, but he did not have the strength.

"Now, Hal, sit right where you are," said the blind man. "Even though I can't see, I can hear if you move a finger. Now you, boy, take hold of his left hand and bring it near my right."

Kit and Hal obeyed him to the letter, and Kit saw him pass something from his hand to the captain's hand.

"And now that's done," said the blind man. As he tapped his way out of the office, Kit closed the front door, and locked it. He could still hear the tapping the blind man made in the distance.

It was some time before either he or the captain could move. When Kit looked over to the captain, he had blood coming from his mouth. He was close to death, but seemed not to care anymore. Looking down into the palm of his hand, Kit saw that he had a piece of paper with a black spot on it.

"Ten o'clock!" he cried. "That's two hours away, but I'm dead anyway."

Kit tried to help him to his feet, but he fell back down.

"Kit, take this key," he said, coughing up blood. "This key is for the small box in my bag. Take it so the Pastmaster doesn't get it, and make sure that Baloo gets—gets-" but he did not have the strength to finish. Kit saw that he was no longer breathing, and in fear he took the key.

Soon the sound of the Sea Duck was heard. Kit knew that Baloo would know what to do.


	3. Pirates at Higher for Hire

When Baloo got to the door, he was pulled in by Kit and there on the floor was the captain. Suddenly Rebecca and Molly came into the office.

"What happened in here, Kit?" Rebecca asked, "is he dead?"

Kit told them everything that happened while they were gone-the lizard, the blind man, and what the captain had told him to do. So, without saying a word they all went to the captain's room to check out the mysterious black bag the captain had brought with him.

"Miss Cunningham, the captain told me to take the box in the bag, before the Pastmaster gets it," Kit said, as Baloo dumped all the captain's belongings on the floor. In the pile was the small box the captain had told Kit to keep safe. As Rebecca picked it up, Molly noticed the skull and crossbones painted on it.

"The captain was a pirate?" Molly said with astonishment, as she looked at the symbol on the box. The sound of tapping could be heard outside.

"It's the Pastmaster-he has come for the box!" Kit shouted. Rebecca scooped up Molly into her arms and hurried for the back door.

Only Baloo and Kit remained long enough to get what was on the floor. He picked up what appeared to be a small bag of money, an iron dagger, and a .357 Magnum. Kit held only the small box close to his chest as they left the room. Both of them could hear the sound of shouting outside the office door, sounding like a dozen men, but what scared Kit was the voice of the Pastmaster outside.

Kit hurried to join Rebecca and Molly outside, while Baloo stayed to face the men outside alone. He was not going to let the ones he cared so much for be killed by a bunch of cutthroats.

Baloo stood there with his hand clenched tightly around the Magnum. He was ready to die to protect his friends. As the men outside began to break the door down, a window on the left was pried open. Baloo saw one of the men trying to crawl through it, but he took aim at the man and fired. The bullet found its mark, killing him right there on the spot.

"Got one, five left," Baloo said. Two more men entered the office. Baloo took aim, and fired off two more rounds. Each bullet hit its mark. Blood was all over the floor, but that did not stop the men outside." Only three left, got to make them count."

As another man came through the door. He fired, but missed, he fired again, this time nailing the man in the heart. Viper burst into the office, and Baloo fired his last round, but only hit Viper's cheek. With no more bullets in the Magnum, Baloo stood his ground against the lizard.

"It's just you and me, lizard boy," Baloo said, as he cracked his knuckles. Then he and Viper began to do battle.

After the sound of gunshots had ended, Kit's curiosity was greater than his fear. Creeping closer to the office, he could see and hear what was happening.

There were now seven or eight men left, and one in the crowd was the blind man. Kit could hear him giving orders to the others to have Baloo brought out to him. And with one powerful blow from his cane, the Pastmaster knocked Baloo out cold, and left him outside. The men started to search the office.

Kit heard one of the men shout in surprise that Hal was dead, and that the duffel bag was ransacked. The Pastmaster sneered at what he had just heard.

A few seconds later, Viper came out of the office, shouting at the top of his lungs. "Pastmaster, the money is gone."

"Curse the money!" shouted Pastmaster. "Is Klang's box still there?"

"No, it's gone," Viper shouted.

"The boy must have it. After him," screamed Pastmaster. They started running into the street, but the sound of incoming sirens shattered the morning air. The next sound the men heard was a pistol shot, the warning of danger. As soon as they heard the shot, the men scattered in all directions. Only the Pastmaster remained, tapping up and down the road in a frenzy and calling for his mates.

In the confusion he began walking straight toward the approaching cars, with their sirens on at full blast. He tried to get out of the way, but it was too late-one of the cars was already upon him. He went down with a wretched cry that split the air.

Kit leaped to his feet and hailed the drivers. They were Enforcers who had heard the shooting and had come to help them. They quickly found Rebecca and Molly, sent Baloo to the hospital, but could do nothing for the Pastmaster.

The Enforcers regrouped in the office, which had almost been destroyed by the pirates. Kit knew that the box he held must be very valuable. So he asked the Enforcers if they would take him to Dr. Sinain at once. Kit could not stop thinking about Baloo, who had fought to protect them, and now he was severely wounded.

In the back seat of the patrol car, Kit began to wonder why Baloo was not killed by the buccaneers. He had just seen pirates attack Higher for Hire, and for what? Some old box that was probably not worth anything. But all that mattered was that Rebecca and Molly was safe, and Baloo was being treated at the hospital.


	4. The map to the island

When the patrol car stopped, Kit saw that he was in front of Khan Industries, where Dr. Abby Sinian worked. When he entered the lobby, it was so big that he felt like an ant. Then he saw Shere Khan, the owner of half of Cape Suzette.

Khan looked at him as if he were dirt on a thousand dollar suit, but his attitude changed when Dr. Sinian treated him with respect. Kit told the doctor what had happened, and she congratulated him for his quick thinking. Khan asked them to join him in his office for a hot meal.

After lunch, the doctor asked Kit to show her the box. He gave it to her, and a shock of recognition passed over her face.

"Mr. Khan," said the doctor, "you have heard of the snake, Klang, I suppose?"

Khan raised an eyebrow at the name. "Heard of him!" he cried. "Heard of him, you say! He was the most blood thirsty buccaneer that ever roamed the skies. The Red Lynx was a child compared to Klang!"

Kit could tell this snake Klang was evil, but he still needed to know one thing. "Was Klang very rich?" he asked.

"Was he rich!?" exclaimed Khan. "Why, he was the richest of them all, said to have hid all his treasure on a floating island."

The doctor and Khan knew that the box was a clue to Captain Klang's treasure. They asked Kit if he would give them the key to the box and Kit agreed, since he was now even more eager than they to see its contents.

When they opened the box, there was a ledger which recorded the exploits and the various amounts of money and jewels Captain Klang had collected in one way or another. But there was also a worn out piece of paper, which was sealed with wax. All three of them stood there; ready to see if this was the key to a fortune.

The doctor opened the seal with great care, and she saw a map of an island; an island in the sky! It included all the particulars that would be needed to bring an airship safely to its shores. The island was about sixteen miles long and ten miles across, and was shaped like a skull. It had a hill in the corner marked "Sniper spot." There were two crosses made with black ink, under which were written: TREASURE RIGHT HERE.

Kit saw what looked like directions on the back of the map that showed the exact location of the treasure.

Dr. Sinian and Khan turned the map over to read the directions, and were filled with excitement.

"Sinian," Khan said, with a smile on his face, "Tomorrow, you and young Kit here will meet me at Megakat City airport. In less than three weeks we will have the best airship and the best crew in the entire world. Kit will be our cabin boy. You, Sinian, will be the ship's doctor and I will be admiral. We will take some loyal friends I know of-Chance, Jake, Hotspur, Myra, and Dill.

"That's all very good, but there is just one man I am scared of," Sinian said with a frown.

"Name the dog!" Khan snapped in defense.

"You," she said, "you can't help but blab to everyone that we're going after treasure."

Khan looked at the doctor with a guilty smile. "I will be quiet as the dead," he said.

It took longer than they had expected to get ready for the trip. During the preparation, Kit stayed at Khan's penthouse and was under the charge of Hotspur, Khan's personal sea captain. After several weeks, they finally received a letter from Shere Khan.

His letter glowed with excitement. He had found an airship named the Iron Vulture, which he claimed was most airworthy. Then he explained that, quite by accident, he met a brown wolf. The wolf said he was once an airship's cook and wanted to return to the skies.

Sinian was very impressed by this wolf, whose name was Don Karnage. The wolf also owned a tavern in Megakat City, and had a small bank account.

The letter filled Kit with excitement and expectation. They were going to leave for Megakat City the very next day. Kit said goodbye to the Cunninghams and Baloo, who was managing Higher for Hire.

The flight to Megakat City was long and boring. When Kit finally arrived, Shere Khan was there to meet him. They walked together talking about the trip, and to Kit's great delight, he was able to see many planes of all shapes and sizes.

When the two of them got to the parking lot, Khan called for his limo to return to the hotel. He gave Kit the address to Don Karnage's tavern; he was to go there to deliver a message. Kit soon found the tavern; it was named "The Treasure Cave." The place was bright and freshly painted, the windows had neat blue curtains, and the sidewalk was clean as the morning sky.

As Kit entered the tavern, he saw that this place looked nice on the outside, but the inside was a different story.

The women wore very skimpy clothing, the men were drinking heavily and playing poker, and the second floor had armed men.

He needed to find Karnage, so he would have to ask one of the men if they could point him out. Kit saw a Great Dane, standing closest to him, with his back to wall, who seemed like the man that would know where Karnage was.

"Could you tell me where I can find Don Karnage?" Kit asked. The man turned his gaze on the young cub.

"Don Karnage," he said, raising his eyebrow at Kit's question. "He would be the one by the window, with his back to you."

"Thank you," Kit said, walking over to where Karnage was standing. As he drew closer to him, the wolf spoke up without making eye contact, causing Kit to freeze on the spot.

"I hear you have asked for me. Yes, no?" he said in a thick Spanish accent, turning slowly to face Kit.

"Yes, I have," Kit said in a shaky voice. "I came to tell you that you are to report to the Iron Vulture."

He stood there with his gaze fixed on the small bear cub, like a lion ready to pounce.

"We take off at dawn," Kit said, clearing his throat. Karnage then gave him a small smile. He was indeed a man of mystery.

"And what is your name, young one?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Kit Cloudkicker," he answered, taking hold of his hand to shake it.

Karnage just smiled at Kit, as they shook hands. Turning his attention to the women in the tavern, he called out to them, "Ladies, pack up your stuff and go home." Without saying a word, the women left quickly. Kit could tell that Karnage was not only a man of mystery, he was man of authority.

"Kit, why don't you and I sit down and get a bite to eat," he said. Passing a pegboard, Kit saw him reach out and put on a blue captain's coat. Suddenly the memory of Captain Hal's warning ran through his mind as they headed for a table.


	5. Meeting Don's crew

The warning kept going off like an alarm in Kit's head. Captain Hal had told him to watch out for a wolf wearing a blue captain's coat. But this man did not seem like a threat. Kit had seen Viper and the blind man, both pirates, and he was pretty sure that he knew what a pirate looked like. Karnage didn't fit the description.

As Karnage and Kit found an open table, a lizard bumped right into them, and Kit recognized him at once. It was Viper!

"Viper!" Kit cried. "It's Viper, he's one of Klang's men!"

When Viper heard the boy's cries, he ran for the door, but there was an enforcer outside the tavern who heard Kit shouting at him. As Viper left the tavern, the enforcer shouted at him to stop.

"Hey you, stop!" shouted the enforcer as Viper ran into the street. The enforcer gave chase, and was hot on Viper's tail.

Viper ran down one street and up another, but he could not lose the enforcer. Taking a quick look backwards, he saw that a second enforcer joined in the chase. He had to think of a way to lose them, but how?

Then he saw it, a dark alleyway. That was perfect-he knew the street and could lose them. With great speed he jumped into the alleyway. The enforcers arrived but could find him nowhere. It was like he had just disappeared into thin air.

"Keep me covered," said the lead enforcer. Slowly he moved into the alley, but failed to see the manhole cover to the sewer rise up an inch.

"I hate you enforcers!" Viper thought as he lowered himself into the sewer. He was shocked to find someone else there with him, a fellow buccaneer. "What are you doing here?" he asked the buccaneer.

The buccaneer slowly moved his hand to the handle of his sword. "Just this, Viper," he said, drawing his sword with lighting fast speed, running his blade through the lizard's chest.

Viper was dead before he hit the floor, and the buccaneer stood there with a smile on his face. "I wonder what they're serving at the tavern now?" he said, making his way through the sewer toward the tavern.

Back in the tavern, Kit told Don Karnage who Viper was, and that he had tried to kill his friend Baloo. Karnage seemed furious that a pirate and a wanted man had been in his tavern.

"Well, I never—a buccaneer-here in my tavern. And with name like Viper!" said Karnage as he turned his gaze to the dog who was siting at the same table with Viper.

"You—you were drinking with him!" shouted Karnage taking hold of the dog at the table. "You, Mad Dog, have you ever seen that lizard before? Yes, no?"

"No, never! This is the first time I laid eyes on him," pleaded Mad Dog. Kit saw him panting, begging Karnage to let him go.

"What were the two of you doing?" Karnage asked, releasing his grip on Mad Dog.

Mad Dog just sat there, silent at first, but spoke up with timid smile. "We was talking about some kind of map," he said, trying not to make eye contact with Karnage. "And that's all we talked about."

"Are you sure he didn't say anything else?" Karnage questioned Mad Dog.

"No," replied Mad Dog. "He didn't say anything else."

With a smile, Karnage sat down next to him. "Now was that so hard to tell the truth?" he asked, sounding rather nice to a man he could have killed. Both men looked at Kit, and asked him to sit down with them. Then two more men showed up at the table.

Kit looked at them with concern, wondering if these men were friends of Viper. "Kit, I want you to meet some of my old crew. Mad Dog is the one sitting next to me. The other two are Hacksaw Jack and Ratchet. (Hacksaw was a crazy looking Dingo, and Ratchet was dark brown half breed.)

"Pleased to meet you," Kit said, picking up the menu, but put it down when he heard Karnage clear his throat.

"There are still two more you have to meet," Karnage said with a smile. "The one that pointed me out to you is called Dumptruck." Kit saw that he was pointing to the great Dane. "Last but not least, the shrimp of the team, Gibber," he said, pointing to a short dog at the roulette tables in the corner of the tavern.

Kit liked Don Karnage. He seemed to have lots of friends and an adventuresome spirit. He ate lunch with Karnage and his friends. Then they left the tavern and headed for the airfield. Kit noticed a small bit of dried blood on Hacksaw's vest, but turned his attention to Karnage who began talking about the different planes and airships that they passed by—their tonnage and nationality. His friends would relate bits of stories and jokes they had heard in their time. Kit began to think that they were some of the best possible crew members.

When they got to the airship, Dr. Sinian and Shere Khan greeted them warmly. Karnage told them about Viper, how he was at the tavern. He told them what happened from beginning to end with a great deal of spirit.

"That was how it went down, isn't it, Kit?" he would say now and again.

They regretted that Viper had escaped, but Khan cheered them all up with some good news. They would leave on their voyage the very next day. Later that night, Baloo flew to Megakat City airport with Rebecca and Molly. He told Kit that Rebecca had agreed to marry him, and when Kit returned, he would be part of a family again.


	6. Murder on the Iron Vulture

The next day Kit discovered that Don Karnage had been given the job of finding a crew for the Iron Vulture. He was glad to know that Hacksaw Jack, Ratchet, Gibber, Mad Dog, and Dumptruck were all coming on this trip. Kit heard that the captain and his first mate had called a meeting with Dr. Sinian, Shere Khan, and him as well.

As they sat in the captain's quarters, the sound of knocking was heard at the door. Khan opened the door to welcome in the captain, whose name was Ulysses Feral, and a scrawny cat named Steele.

"I thought we were flying on a secret mission," said Feral, "and now I find out that were going after treasure. The crew knows more than I, and I don't like it at all."

Everyone turned to Mr. Khan, who was looking rather nervous.

"Did you blab about the treasure?" Dr. Sinian asked with a frown. Khan only nodded. She knew that it would be very hard to keep the crew in check if they knew the purpose of the trip was to seek treasure.

Feral spoke up in a commanding tone, "I don't like this crew, and there seems to be more than one man who has talked about this treasure hunt," he said looking at everyone in the room.

Everyone knew that Captain Feral was a man of caution, but was he being too cautious?

"Kit," Captain Feral said, "I need you to hide the map carefully and to keep it a secret—even from me."

All the captain said made sense, but had an air of foreboding. The doctor at once agreed to Feral's suggestion, but Shere Khan took an instant dislike to the captain and only agreed to go along because he wanted to start takeoff peacefully.

All that night the crew were in a great bustle, getting things stowed in their places and bidding farewell to friends and family. Kit wished he could see Baloo before they took off, but couldn't manage it.

It was a little before dawn when Dumptruck blew his pipe to get all the crew on the Iron Vulture's flight deck. As the airship took off from the airport, Karnage began to tell Kit about the Iron Vulture-what kind of fuel it needed, and how fast it could go. It was amazing that he knew so much about this airship, but it also made Kit wonder if there was a secret he was hiding.

Then one of the men came and asked Karnage—whom they called Butcher, since he was the cook—to sing a song. He at once broke out with the words Kit knew so well:

"With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey. We're hoisting the flag to be free," then the whole crew joined in the song, "we will steal the show, Jolly Rogers go. We are wolves of the sky."

Later that afternoon, Kit was in the kitchen with Karnage. They talked about their families, the kind of ice cream they liked, and planes. There was one question Karnage would not answer however, and it was the identity of the woman in the picture next to his cutting board.

"What are you two doing?" said first mate Steele. "If you're not doing your work then I'll-" Steele stopped and looked at the picture.

"Well, I see that you have a girlfriend, Karnage. She would have to be the dumbest girl around to be with a guy like you," laughed Steele. Kit saw a fierce look in Karnage's eyes as Steele mocked him.

Karnage balled up his fist, pulled it back, and hit Steele with such force that it sent him flying back ten feet. Kit could not believe how strong Karnage was.

"Karnage!" Captain Feral shouted. Karnage slowly turned to face the captain, but he showed no sign of fear.

"It's exactly what it looks like," Karnage said with a grin, as if he knew he would not get into trouble. "I hit your first mate for insulting me and my girl, Lotta."

Captain Feral just looked at Steele, then at Karnage who was now going back to his work. "Just get lunch ready for the crew." Feral said with growl as he left the kitchen, dragging his first mate out by his leg.

That night as Kit lay in bed, he could not stop thinking about the Cunninghams and Baloo. They were probably doing their jobs and hard at work, but he missed them very much. Turning to the other side of the bed, he saw the first mate walk by, but he wasn't alone. Dumptruck and Hacksaw were close behind him.

As Steele got into the elevator that would take him to the flight deck of the Iron Vulture, Dumptruck and Hacksaw got in with him. He looked at the two of them with a nervous smile, not knowing why they were up at this time, but as the elevator drew closer to the flight deck level, Steele saw Hacksaw reach into his vest and pull out a tire iron. His eyes widened with fear as the dingo raised the tire iron to strike.

"Give my regards to Viper," Hacksaw said, as he clubbed Steele, who fell to the elevator floor. Hacksaw clubbed him again. Steele lay motionless, blood dripping from the tire iron and from his head.

When the elevator got to the flight deck, Dumptruck dragged Steele out of the elevator. Then two more crew members cleaned up all the evidence of the murder.

Hacksaw and Dumptruck came to the main control panel that would open the Iron Vulture's beak.

"I think it was about time we finished him," Dumptruck said with a chuckle. "He was starting to get snoopy, and if the captain found out, we would be in big trouble."

"I quite agree that he was snooping into other people's affairs," Hacksaw said. "If he found out that we are pirates, he would have us all locked in the brig."

"Well, at least we can say that he was fun to kill, was he not?" Dumptruck said as he pulled the lever to open the beak of the Iron Vulture.

Both men picked up Steele and threw him out of the Iron Vulture. They planted a suicide letter signed by Steele, so no one would suspect them of murder.

The next morning the crew held a funeral for Steele, but no one seemed to care very much. Soon Kit was back to doing his work, helping Karnage in the kitchen, mopping the floors with Jake and Chance, or checking the cargo for rats.

Whenever he saw Karnage around the crew, it was evident that the man commanded great respect among them. Karnage was always kind to Kit and was always glad when he came to help with the was introduced to Karnage's pet parrot named Ignatius, who took a liking to him. In no time at all, Kit was learning all the ups and downs of the ship, like how to set the locks on the brig, how to use the ship's helm, and how to give commands.

Jake even taught Kit how to air surf. They would glide behind the Iron Vulture for ten or fifteen minutes on the air foil looking at the clouds below. Later they would go with Myra and Hotspur to see a movie, and sometime Kit would just talk with Shere Khan.

One day wile Jake was at the helm, he seemed a little tired.

"Jake, would you like me to steer?" Kit asked.

"Oh no, Kit, you're not old enough to steer an airship," Jake said, turning the ship ten points to the left. "If I let you steer, then I would get in trouble."

"Hey, Kit, would you get me an apple?" Jake asked politely. "I think some fruit would help me stay awake."

As Kit entered the kitchen, Karnage was nowhere to be seen, but he knew where the apples were—in the large barrel in the corner of the kitchen. As Kit reached in for an apple, he pulled out a doll. The doll he knew far too well-it was Molly Cunningham's. Kit peered into the barrel, and saw the owner.

"I guess I'm in trouble," Molly said sadly as she took a bite out of an apple. "Are you going to take me to the captain now?"

Before Kit could say a thing, the two of them heard the voices of Mad Dog and a crewman named Lenny Ringtail. Kit quickly climbed into the barrel with Molly, so he could overhear their conversation. They were talking about how they were tired of taking orders from Captain Feral, when Karnage interrupted them, telling them to be quiet. What Kit heard next would mean the difference between life and death for his friends.


	7. The ture Karnage

As Kit and Molly listened, his heart dropped at hearing that Karnage was such a deceiver and murderer.

"So tell me Karnage, were you the captain of the Hellfire?" Lenny asked, popping the cap off of bottle of beer.

Karnage looked up with a smile on his face. "No, not I," he said, taking the bottle from Lenny. "Klang was captain. I was his combat leader because of my influence over the crew in battle. I was there to see Pastmaster lose his eyes. That was some time we had," Karnage said, raising the bottle high to honor Pastmaster's death.

"Damn right," Mad Dog said. "We were the best there ever was when it came to being pirates."

"Indeed we were," boasted Karnage, as he took a drink from the bottle. "And we got ourselves plenty of gold on those raids. That's how I was able to buy myself that little tavern and wait for the time to find the rest of Klang's treasure." As he took another drink, his nose picked up a familiar scent, one he knew well.

Then Hacksaw, Ratchet, and Gibber came into the kitchen, and took seats next to the apple barrel were Kit and Molly were hiding.

"What I want to know is," asked Ratchet, "how long we intend to sit here quietly and wait?"

"Yeah," Hacksaw growled. "I've just about had it with Feral. I want those hotshots to know who we we really are before I run my blade through their hearts."

Karnage knew that Hacksaw's lust for killing could ruin his great plan, so he put Hacksaw in his place. "I'll give the word, mister I-have-the-brains-of-a-duck-you-know," he said, pulling the dingo close to his face, "and it won't happen until the very last moment. Captain Feral is a first-rate commander, and we'll let him fly the Iron Vulture for us."

Hacksaw stared at Karnage. "But what about the map?"

Karnage slowly let Hacksaw go. "Shere Khan, Dr. Sinian, or Kit Cloudkicker most likely have the map. When the time is right, we'll kill them all when they find the treasure," he said, taking another drink from the bottle. "But of course, I'll let Kit live, because he reminds me of myself."

"As our good friend Viper would say, 'Dead men don't talk,'" Ratchet said, with a cruel smile on his face.

Just then Hacksaw spoke up. "One question, Karnage."

"What is it?" he asked, finishing the bottle off.

"How come we didn't ask Baloo to join the crew again?" Hacksaw asked with a frown.

"Because Baloo has quit the life of a pirate, that's why." Karnage said.

What Kit heard terrified him-Baloo was once a pirate, Karnage, once his friend, was now an enemy, and most of the crew were pirates. As soon as the men left, Molly and Kit jumped out of the barrel, and hurried off to tell the captain.

As Kit explained what he had heard, Captain Feral asked for suggestions on how to save their lives. They decided that Kit would make a fake map for Karnage to steal, so when he took his men to the island, the officers would be able to overpower the ones that stayed on board.

When the crew finally spotted the island, they rushed up on the outer flight deck. Everyone was talking and gesturing with wild excitement. When Kit saw Karnage, he put the plan into action.

"Karnage," Kit said walking up to him with a fake smile on his face, "I think that this will turn out to be quite an adventure and-," but was interrupted.

"You know Kit, you and your little friend should have not have eavesdropped on that conversation," he said, showing his teeth.

Kit began to run as fast as he could to warn the others, but someone grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

"Going somewhere?" Dumptruck asked, as Kit struggled to get free.

Karnage made his way over to the frighted cub. "My boy, you will learn not to play around with pirates," he said, reaching into Kit's shirt pocket and taking the fake map. "Now I have the map and you will help us find the treasure, or your little friend Molly will be sleeping with the fishes."

Kit saw that Molly was also a prisoner. He had no choice but to do as Karnage told him. They were taken to the flight deck where some helicopters were waiting to take off. Dumptruck held Kit tightly and loaded the cubs onto the helicopter. As they took off, Molly and Kit could see their friends watching from the command deck. They were helpless to stop the pirates. The Iron Vulture became smaller as the helicopters headed for the island.

When the ships got close, they could see how the island floated in the sky. There was an energy light shield that formed itself around the island.

Hacksaw let go of Molly, so he could open the door to get a better look at the strange sight. Kit remembered the air foil Jake had given him. Ripping it out, he ran straight for the open door. Molly saw what Kit was doing and grabbed onto his waist as they jumped out of the helicopter. They could see the fury in the pirates' faces as Kit used the air foil to glide safely down to the jungle floor below. But when they landed, the helicopters flew by, not even trying to come back for them. Molly tugged on the sleeve of his sweater.

"Let's do that again," Molly said with excitement.

But first they had to find a way to signal the Iron Vulture. After walking for half an hour, Kit heard Karnage and Lenny talking not too far off. Kit told Molly to hide inside a hollow log, as he crept close to hear what Karnage was saying. He saw that Lotta, the woman from the picture, was with them.

"Karnage, I thought we were going to do this like gentlemen, not like barbarians," Lenny said with a frown. "Mutiny is not my style, and kidnapping two kids? You're out of your mind."

"Well Lenny, you can join or die. That's about all I can say," Karnage said calmly, as he gave Lotta a quick kiss on the cheek. "And if you do join, you might get a little extra."

Suddenly they heard a horrible scream of pain.

"In the name of God, what was that?" shouted Lenny.

"That was the last sound of your friend Buzz—another honest man. He wouldn't go along with my little plan."

"Buzz!" cried Lenny. "God rest his soul! And as for you, Don Karnage, you're no friend of mine!"

"You need to think on what you're saying, before you say something you might regret," Lotta said calmly.

"Karnage can kill me if he wants, but I'll do what's right." Lenny said turning his back on Karnage and setting off toward the helicopters.

He did not get very far. With a cry, Lotta pulled out a spear from behind a tree, and sent it hurtling through the air. It struck Lenny with such force that he fell face forward to the ground. As he lay there groaning in pain, Karnage's shadow appeared over him. He raised his sword in the air, and buried it into Lenny's heart. Pulling it out, he cleaned the blood off the blade as if nothing had happened, and then put it away.

"I see you still can kill without hesitation," Lotta said wrapping her arms around Karnage's neck. "Now prove to me that you still love me." And with that, Lotta and Karnage's lips met in a passionate kiss.

Kit's heart was pounding as he ran silently back to Molly. They had to get away from this place fast. When he got to Molly's hiding spot, he saw two people with Molly, a man and a woman.


	8. New friend and old friends

Kit knew they were no threat because Molly was holding hands with the woman, who was pregnant. He assumed they had crash landed on this floating island.

"Who are you?" Kit asked.

"I'm Clementine Clevenger," said the woman. Then the man stepped forward.

"I'm Wildcat," said the man. He looked at Kit with a smile. "My wife and I haven't spoken with the outside world in these three years."

"Three years!" Molly cried. "Did you two get here by a plane crash?"

Clementine, with tears running down her cheeks, said, "No, child, we were marooned."

Kit had heard of that before. It described a horrible punishment where pirates would actually leave someone behind on a island to die. They would not give the marooned any food or water. Most people in this situation would not survive.

But Wildcat and Clementine were smart. They told them how they worked together to make a home, and now they were going to have a baby.

Then Wildcat tapped Kit on the shoulder. "Do you happen to have some pancakes on you?" he asked. "Every night I dream of pancakes-blueberry, mostly."

The kids felt sorry for Wildcat, because all they had was some wintergreen gum.

"If Kit and I can get back on board the Iron Vulture and beat the pirates, then you two can have all the pancakes, pizza, and ice cream you want." Molly said.

"What are your names?" Clementine asked.

"Kit Cloudkicker," Kit said, "and this is Molly Cunningham." Then he told them what had happened to them, how Don Karnage had kidnapped them, and how he and Lotta had killed Lenny.

"This may be hard for you to accept, but we were pirates too," Clementine said. "We flew with Klang when he found this island, and that is how Don Karnage met princess Lotta. The people that lived here told our captain that if he buried the treasure here, then two people were to be left behind as payment. Wildcat took the place for Baloo, because he owed him a life debt."

Then Wildcat took over telling their story. "Clementine chose to stay, because she loved me," he said taking his wife by the hand. "Then we spent three years here looking for-," but there was a sound of twigs snapping behind them. Wildcat turned to see Hacksaw!

"Well, if it isn't my two old friends," Hacksaw said.

Wildcat told everyone to stay behind him. Hacksaw slowly made his way toward them, seeming almost happy to see his former crew members.

"Hacksaw," begged Wildcat, "we don't want to have any trouble because my wife is pregnant."

Hacksaw laughed. "You think I care about what happens to her?" he said. "I just want to know one thing."

"And what would that be?" Clementine asked, keeping Kit and Molly behind her.

"Do you believe in God?" Hacksaw asked now face to face with Wildcat. "Because if you do, get ready to meet him!" he shouted drawing his sword.

Hacksaw swung his sword at Wildcat, but he ducked under the blade. Kit, Molly, and Clementine watched with horror.

Hacksaw swung his blade at Wildcat, but he missed. So the dingo tried a thrust, but missed again.

Seeing his chance for a counter-attack, Wildcat swung with his knife, but Hacksaw countered with his sword. The blade made a deep cut on Wildcat's arm, sending him reeling in pain.

Hacksaw tried once more for a thrust, but this time Wildcat got under his blade and slashed the dingo's left arm, and then his right arm. Hacksaw was now at the mercy of Wildcat. In a quick move, Wildcat plunged his knife into the dingo's neck.

Hacksaw's eyes became wide, as he felt the knife pulled from his neck. Wildcat stared at him with remorse. Now he had to quickly leave with the others, before Karnage showed up.

"I will kill you, Wildcat," Hacksaw said, gasping for air, "and then I will make your wife suffer long for this."

As the four of them walked deeper into the jungle, they could hear the sound of a plane engine. Kit could see that it was the Sea Duck. Baloo had followed the Iron Vulture since takeoff, realizing that Molly was on board.

The Sea Duck landed on the other side of the hill, and Kit and Molly were more than ready to see Baloo.

"Your friend most likely landed at the old fort that Klang built to hide from the law," said Clementine with a smile. "When you two see Baloo, tell him that we spent most of our time looking for—never mind."

At that moment, they saw an escape pod from the Iron Vulture crashing down behind the hill where the Sea Duck had landed.

Wildcat gave Kit some advice. "If Don Karnage comes looking for trouble, stay behind Baloo, because he can be very protective," he said, as Molly and Kit headed for the fort.

"And Kit," shouted Clementine, "don't forget about the pancakes!"

Inside the fort Kit could see not only Baloo, but Captain Feral, Jake, Chance, Dr. Sinian, Shere Khan, Hotspur, Myra, and even Rebecca Cunningham. Then he saw something that made him grow cold. Dill had been shot dead.

Everyone was elated to see the children, but Kit just wanted to be close to the ones he called family. Molly was rather curious to hear how Captain Feral escaped the Iron Vulture.

After things were sorted out, Kit told Rebecca that Baloo was a pirate.

"I know," Rebecca said, "he told me when we helped the others escape the Iron Vulture."

"Hope you're hungry," Baloo said, holding out a sandwich to Kit.

"I am," Kit said. But he did not tell Baloo about Wildcat and Clementine.

Molly tugged on Baloo's shirt sleeve getting his attention. "What is it sweetheart?" he asked.

"Do you think that Karnage will come back to fight us?" Molly asked. Baloo could tell that she just wanted to go home now; the same could be said for everyone in the fort.

After a minute of silence, Baloo told Molly the truth. "Yes. He will come, and for what? A stupid treasure," he said. "I already found my treasure. It's you, Kit and Rebecca that are my riches."

Molly hugged Baloo. Kit turned his gaze to Captain Feral, wondering how he and the others escaped the Iron Vulture.


	9. Nightmares of the past

"Kit," Dr. Sinian said, "you should try to understand that Feral is upset about losing his ship to the pirates."

Jake called Kit over and told how he and the others escaped the Iron Vulture. "It was right after you and Molly were kidnapped," he said. "We knew that we were outnumbered by the pirates, but we had a back up plan."

"And what was that?" Kit asked.

Jake smiled. "We used the escape pods on the other side of the Iron Vulture. I was the first one out of the command deck, but the pirates were waiting for us."

Kit was amazed that Jake had not been killed the minute he stepped out of the safety of the command deck.

"I drew my pistol and laid down suppressing fire, so that the others could get out," Jake said. "Chance then drew his rifle and killed two of the pirates that were above us. When I saw my chance, I ran to the hangar to catch up with the others."

"What happened then?" Molly asked, taking a seat next to Kit. "Did you see Baloo fly by or something?"

"We did," Jake said. "He somehow found away to open the Vulture's beak, fly his plane into the hangar, and draw the fire of the pirates. By the time we got to the escape pod bay, I took a bullet in the leg. Dill saw me go down and rushed to my aid."

Both kids could see the sadness in Jake's eyes, but he went on with his story. "Dill had a knife with him and rushed two pirates who came through the open door. He dealt with the first one with a quick slash to the throat. The second one tried to cut him in two with a battle ax, but Dill dodged his attack by slashing the back of his knees," he said proudly. "Then he plunged his knife into the pirate's chest. That was when Mad Dog came in with a shotgun and shot Dill. Shere Khan was able to make Mad Dog fall back with a few blasts from his Beretta 92. That gave Hotspur enough time to get Dill into the escape pod, and we ejected out of the Iron Vulture," Jake said. "Baloo flew ahead of us so we could follow him in, because he knew this island. Then we landed and you and Molly showed up."

After Jake had finished his story, the group had a funeral for their fallen comrade, Dill. Not many words were said because they had to get ready for Karnage and his pirates. The captain called everyone together and divided them into watches: Dr. Sinian, Baloo, and Kit were the first watch, Shere Khan, Jake, and Myra the second. Hotspur and Chance would get firewood for cooking, while Rebecca and Molly were to bring water from the well outside. Kit was put on sentry at the door, and Feral moved among them all, keeping their spirits up and lending a hand.

From time to time Dr. Sinian came to the door for a little air, and when she did, she would ask Kit about Baloo's past.

"Baloo is either a good liar, or a changed man. And when I say that, it means a lot," she said.

Another time Molly told Dr. Sinian and Baloo about Wildcat and Clementine. Sinain explained that most who were marooned did not survive.

That night, Feral speculated upon their chances of survival. Dr. Sinian figured that rum and the climate would be working against the pirates. Baloo remembered that Lotta's village was mostly female and would distract Karnage and his crew. The captain hoped that the pirates would eventually give up, return to the ship, and leave.

Kit kept watch all the next day, and he could hear the pirates in the village far away. It worried him because that meant a chance for battle. Still, he didn't forget what Wildcat said about staying close to Baloo if Karnage came looking for trouble.

When the evening came, Kit was dead tired, and drifted off to sleep rather quickly. In his dream he saw a battle raging in the fort-Hacksaw was still alive, trying to kill Baloo, Captain Feral was lying in a pool of his own blood, Karnage laughing as he watched him die. He awoke with such a fright, that it woke up Baloo.

"What's wrong, Kit?" he asked putting his arm around the whimpering cub.

Kit looked at him with tears in his eyes. "Do you ever regret being a pirate?" Baloo could tell that Kit had experienced a nightmare, so he pulled him into a hug.

"Yes," he said, "every day I wish I could go back and fix what I did wrong." Baloo was also struggling with nightmares. "I did things that haunt me to this day. Now I'm a changed man."

Baloo, Rebecca, and Molly were helping heal Kit's heart over the death of his parents. The young cub had come to realize that they would always be there for him. And soon Kit fell back to sleep in the arms of his future father, Baloo.

Kit was awakened by the early sun and the sound of someone shouting:

"Flag of truce!"


	10. Karnage's deal

Don Karnage and four men were just outside the stockade and waving a white flag.

Captain Feral urged everyone to stay inside and keep what weapons they had at the ready. He didn't trust Karnage, and suspected a trap of some sort.

"What do you want, Karnage?" yelled Feral. The pirates stood there with their eyes fixed on the captain.

"All I want is a safe conduct in and out of this stockade," Karnage said, tapping on one of the wooden poles. The captain knew that there was no chance of escape if he tried anything.

"If there is any treachery, it will be on your side, not ours," Feral said lowering his Colt .45 revolver. Kit could see Karnage smiling, as he slowly moved his hand toward his sword.

Dumptruck, however protested against him going in alone. "Don't do it, Captain Karnage!" he said, taking hold of the Don's shoulder, but Karnage pushed his hand away with a scoff.

"I know a gentleman when I see one," Karnage said sticking his sword into the ground, as if to show that he was not going to cause any trouble. "And Captain Feral, like I said, is an honest man."

When Karnage reached the porch where Feral was waiting, he saluted in a formal manner. Feral, however, did not. He would show no respect to a pirate who had been using the crew as his own private army.

Kit could tell that the men waiting outside were getting nervous, but they would not risk losing their captain. Karnage asked if he could come in to talk, but Feral said no. So they sat down on some stumps outside.

Before Karnage could say a thing, Gibber came running in with his flag of truce. The small dog made his way over to his captain and whispered something to him. Feral saw the look he gave Gibber when he heard that the map they had was a fake.

"What do you mean the map is a fake?!" Karnage said with a sneer. Gibber then whispered something to him again. "I know what the word fake means," he said taking hold of Gibber's coat with one hand, pulling him close to his face, and with growl, tossed him like a rag doll.

"Now here it is," said Karnage, "I know now that you have the real map and I aim to get it. If you give it to me, I can stop my men from killing you all. Once I've found the treasure, you come aboard with us, and I give you my word you will be dropped off ten miles outside of Megakat City."

"Or you can stay here, and I promise I will send the very next airship we meet to rescue you and your friends," Karnage said, getting to his feet.

Captain Feral replied that if the pirates were willing to surrender to him, he would take them back to Megakat City to stand trial. Those were his only terms.

Karnage grew angry and pointed to the whole group, shouting a curse, "When I come back, you will see Feral and Baloo fall before your feet," he said, grinding his teeth. "They will die begging for their lives." Then he turned to leave, but stopped halfway out of the stockade. "One more thing, Kit," he said turning to face Kit with a cruel smile. "You would have saved your friends, if you had given me the real map."

Karnage left the stockade and joined his men outside. Feral watched them go into the jungle and disappear behind the tree line. Captain Feral ordered everyone to return to their posts, to prepare for an attack from the pirates. He urged them to eat a hearty breakfast, as they soon would be needing all their strength.

Baloo went over to an old safe and opened it to reveal a stash of firearms and swords. He pulled out a sword that had his name on it. Kit could tell that it was a Scottish Claymore, and it looked like it was brand new.

Jake and Chance sorted out the firearms-there were two IMI Desert Eagles, two Ruger Mini-14's, a pair of Buffalo rifles and one IMI Tavor TAR-21. Baloo took one of the Eagles and a Buffalo rifle, Shere Khan took the other Eagle and a Ruger. Myra picked up the TAR-21, and took to the roof, as a sniper would do. Rebecca hid in the corner of the hut with Molly, gripping the last Buffalo rifle so tightly that her hands were turning white.

By the time everyone had a weapon, they heard native war cries and the sound of the Iron Vulture approaching. Baloo told Jake and Chance about Klang's jet he kept down in the fort's basement, so the cats rushed for the jet. Kit heard the jet start up and rushed over to the door to see it come out of a hidden hanger, ready to stand against the Iron Vulture.

Then the attack began.


	11. The battle

The sound was faint at first, but grew louder. In the distance, Kit heard the battle cries of the pirates and Lotta's warriors, who were helping the buccaneers.

Myra saw them coming and took aim at the leading warriors. She fired her TAR-21, scoring chest and head shots. Kit could see the warriors go down, but there were so many of them that it seemed as if the ground itself was spiting them out. In the sky, the Iron Vulture fired its main cannons at the fort; dirt was kicked up as the shells made contact with the ground.

Myra knew that if the cannon operators were allowed to keep firing on them, they would be overwhelmed. She raised her weapon at the Vulture's gun deck, adjusting her sights to full zoom, and locked onto a lone pirate. Slowly she pulled the trigger and fired. The pirate was loading the cannon when the bullet made contact with his head; it was a clean kill for Myra and she turned her sights back on the advancing enemy below the Iron Vulture.

Three pirates reached the fort's wall, but were stopped from climbing over by Baloo. Taking aim he fired his Buffalo rifle, nailing a pirate in the neck, showering the others in his blood.

"When you mess with my friends," Baloo shouted, "you get the bullet." He reloaded quickly and took aim at a pirate who was now too scared to move. Baloo didn't hesitate to put a bullet into the man's heart.

"Gotcha," Baloo said as he fired. The bullet hit its mark and killed the pirate quickly. Then another blast from the Iron Vulture was heard, as a shell came and blew a hole in the wall of the hut, knocking Kit to the floor.

Hotspur saw Kit go down and rushed to see if he was all right. "Kit," he cried, "are you hurt?" Kit looked at him and gave him the thumbs up.

Myra took aim at a native warrior who was climbing over the wall. She fired but missed, adjusted her sights for a second shot. "I hate when I don't hit my target." This time the bullet struck the warrior in the lower chest, killing him in a matter of seconds.

Even though the fort defenders had the home field advantage, the pirates and the native warriors were too many, and began to get over the wall.

"I'm going out to face them," Hotspur said drawing his Rapier. "If I don't make it, tell my family that I died a honorable death on the battlefield." With those words he left the hut and confronted the enemy outside.

One of Lotta's warriors tried to thrust his spear into Hotspur, but he shoved him aside. This gave Hotspur the chance to attack, and with great speed he thrust his Rapier into the warrior's stomach and he fell to the ground.

Lotta spotted Hotspur, and knew he would be a worthy opponent. She slowly made her way toward him, to watch how he handled his blade, how fast he was, and his strength. He quickly took out two more of her people and one pirate.

"I think you should try your hand against mine," Lotta said. Hotspur turned to see her standing no more then five feet away, and with a wave of her hand a warrior gave her a spear. This spear was not just for thrusting; it was also used for slashing.

Hotspur quickly tried a for a vertical head slash with his Rapier, but Lotta parried it with her spear, which left him open for attack. With a quick thrust she stabbed him in his left leg. He let a bitter cry of pain and clamped his hand over the wound.

"You have skill," Hotspur said respectfully, "for a woman, I mean." Lotta was not impressed with his compliment, so she whacked him over the head with her spear.

Up in the sky Jake and Chance started to bet money on who would win the fight.

Hotspur saw a chance for a horizontal slash, but Lotta ducked under his sword and stabbed him in the stomach. It wasn't a strike that would kill right away, but it would make him a easy target. With the last bit of strength he had, he lunged his Rapier at Lotta's face, but was only able to cause a small cut to her cheek.

Lotta touched her cheek, there was a small bit of blood, but she only smiled at his last attempt to fight back. "You cut my lovely face," she said. And with that, she did a three-sixty spin and delivered the final strike, slashing Hopspur across the neck, cutting his major arteries and he fell to the ground dead.

Lotta then took Hotspur's Rapier in her hand, and raised both her spear and the Rapier in the air, giving a cry of victory.

In the sky, Jake and Chance saw the whole thing. "I think that's ten bucks you owe me, Chance," Jake said. But Chance was not going to pay his friend just yet, because the pirates had their own fighter planes, and he knew that as long as the pirates were in the air they could strafe the ones down on the fort.

The Iron Vulture fired at the fort again, and Chance flew their F-14, called the Turbo-kat, closer to the airship so Jake could take out the cannons. As they drew closer, Mad Dog in his F-16 fired a missile at them.

"On the right, Chance!" Jake shouted. Chance banked to the right as the missile barely missed them. Mad Dog tried to fire on them with his plane's mini-cannons, but missed as the Turbo-kat pulled up, heading for the clouds. The Iron Vulture fired on them but they were too fast a target.

Mad Dog was then joined by Dumptruck, who was flying in his F/A-18. They both locked on to the Turbo-kat with heat seeking missiles and fired them. Chance saw this and cut his engines off, letting the heat seekers go right past them.

Jake switched on his weapons system and chose hellfire missiles. "Chance, we need to go after the F-16 first." Chance looked at him with a smile.

"You got it buddy," he said, giving him the thumbs up, and went after Mad Dog. Jake locked on to the F-16 and fired. The missile soared through the air and struck the underside of Mad Dog's jet.

"Not good," Mad Dog said as he quickly ejected, before his jet turned into fireball. Thinking fast, Jake shot down Dumptruck and two more jets.

Back down on the ground Karnage was furious; he had just watched four of his jets go down, and now the Turbo-kat was moving into attack position in order to take out the Iron Vulture's cannons.

Inside the fort, Feral was keeping the pirates from scaling the wall. As one tried to get over, he plunged his blade into the mans heart. He turned just in time to see a warrior swing his war club at him, but he parried it and delivered a fatal slash to the warrior's face. Baloo was now outside as well, defending the entrance to the hut. One pirate came too close to Baloo's Claymore, and had his head cut off in a single swing.

Rushing to the open window, Kit saw one of the Iron Vulture's cannons destroyed, but his attention was drawn to Baloo.

Just like in Kit's dream, Hacksaw was alive and trying to kill Baloo.

As Baloo and Hacksaw fought, Karnage challenged Feral to mortal combat. Kit watched as all four of them fought like the possessed. If his dream were to come true, then Karnage would triumph over Feral.

Feral gripped his sword tightly as he readied himself. Karnage slowly drew his cutlass and got into fighting position. Feral was the first to attack, swinging his sword at Karnage, but he jumped back and quickly brought his cutlass down on the captain's shoulder.

Feral let out a cry of pain, as Karnage tried to thrust his cutlass into the captain's heart, but was blocked by Feral's sword. The captain then kicked Karnage to the ground and tried for his head.

Karnage saw the blade coming toward him and rolled to the left, making a quick thrust at Feral. The blade gashed the captain's side. Feral fell to his knees in pain, as Karnage quickly got back to his feet, and began to slash the wounded captain.

Baloo swung his Claymore at Hacksaw, but missed. He swung again at Hacksaw, slashing his chest. The dingo charged Baloo in fit of rage, but Baloo dodged the pirate's attack, and slashed Hacksaw's back.

Hacksaw counterattacked by stabbing Baloo in the ribs with the tire iron.

Kit watched helplessly as his friends faced death. He saw Baloo's Buffalo rifle in the dirt, grabbed it, and took aim.

Kit switched his gaze from Karnage to Hacksaw. He had to chose one of the pirates, but the choice he made would mean death for one of his friends.

Up in the sky, Jake and Chance in the Turbo-kat were going in for another shot on the last cannon. Just then a missile from the Iron Vulture was fired at them. Chance barely had enough time to evade the missile as it exploded next to the Turbo-kat.

Jake looked at the Turbo-kat's wing and saw little damage. "Chance, that was a close one," he said readying his weapon system for the strike on the cannon. But then something caught his attention. Blood was coming from Chance's neck. "Chance!" Jake cried.

Chance turned his head to face Jake. "It was a honor to serve with you, Jake," he said coughing up some blood. Then he pulled the eject switch, launching Jake out of the Turbo-kat, as it collided with the last cannon. Then the cannon exploded into a burning inferno.

Jake watched his best friend die before his very eyes. As tears ran down his cheeks, he felt an incredible loss. But at least the others were safe from the Iron Vulture's cannons.

Kit finally made his choice. He took aim at Karnage, and fired. The bullet struck the pirate captain's sword, destroying it.

Karnage turned to see Kit holding the rifle, smoke still coming out of the barrel. He ordered a total retreat and every one ran off, even Hacksaw.

"Baloo!" cried Rebecca, as she rushed to his side, trying to stop the bleeding. Feral was also wounded, but his wounds were not life threatening. Dr. Sinian came rushing out of the hut. After a thorough examination, she had him moved inside the hut so she could attend to his wounds. When Jake arrived, he saw that everyone was outside, waiting to hear what Dr. Sinian had to say. Kit was taking it hard, because he had saved Feral's life, but not Baloo.

Jake told Kit that things like this happen for a reason, and it's not their choices that tell how peoples lives play out, and it is ultimately in God's hands. He told him the story of Joseph, of how God let such bad things happen to him, but it resulted in good.

"Life has a way of being unfair, but we know that in the end, something good comes out of it," Jake said, pulling Kit into a hug.


	12. Taking back the Vulture

Not long after Dr. Sinian had Baloo taken inside the hut, so she could examine him. She soon came out to tell the others about Baloo's condition.

"Tell me the truth," Rebecca pleaded, hoping the Baloo would be alright. "is Baloo going to live, please tell me!" Sinian looked away in shame, and shook her head in disappointment.

"His left lung was punctured and he lost a lot of blood," Sinian said. "I did what I could, but without the proper medical attention, Baloo will probably die." Everyone was quiet, knowing that they had to give the pirates the map, in exchange for using the medical wing in the Iron Vulture.

Kit stepped forward. "I want to see Baloo," he demanded. Dr. Sinian led him inside the hut where Baloo was being treated. It was hard for Kit to see his best friend suffer. Dr. Sinian left him alone with Baloo for a while.

"I'm so sorry that this happened, Baloo," Kit said taking hold of Baloo's hand. "I want to give the map to Don Karnage and his pirates, and see if they will make a trade with us."

"No, Kit," Baloo faintly said, "I don't want you risking your life for me."

"Please, Baloo," Kit pleaded, "I don't want to see you die. If I can make a deal with Karnage to let you on the Iron Vulture, then you can marry Rebecca, and we can be a family."

"No," Baloo said sadly, "Karnage would never make a deal like that. He would just steal the map and leave us here. I'm proud of you Kit. You have proved that you were brave, but you must promise that you will be a good and obey Rebecca."

"I will," Kit said. Baloo then leaned in close and whispered something that made Kit's heart melt.

"I love you, kid," Baloo said pulling him into a hug.

That night Kit could not sleep, thinking of his plan to save Baloo. He slowly got to his feet, taking one of the IMI Desert Eagles, and sneaked out of the fort, unaware that Molly was following him.

When Kit found the Iron Vulture, he realized that he was being followed. Thinking fast, he jumped behind some crates that were to be loaded on board the airship. When he saw that it was Molly, he was angry.

"Why are you following me?" Kit asked.

"Because I want to help save Baloo, the same as you," Molly said. Kit could not send her back to the fort, because the pirates would use her as leverage if they caught her.

"Ok, you may come with me, but you must do what I tell you," Kit said. He was looking for a way in because the front door was heavily guarded.

"We can use the air shafts," Molly said, leading Kit to a maintenance ladder. He saw that it would lead them right to the air shafts, so they would be able to sneak past the guards.

Kit started to climb up the ladder as Molly held onto him. By the time they reached an air vent, the sound of arguing could be heard. Both cubs slowly pulled the vent off, crawled into the shaft, and headed for the command deck.

By the time they got to the vent leading to the command deck, Kit and Molly saw two pirates fighting. One was Hacksaw, and the other was new face to them.

"You cheated me out of my rum, my money, and my girl," Hacksaw shouted, his face red with anger. "Rex Shard, you will die for this," and the dingo drew his tire iron and attacked.

Rex drew his knife and tried to slash Hacksaw's wrist, but he stepped back. With a lightning fast move, he gripped Rex by the arm and flipped him over his shoulder.

Rex got back to his feet as Hacksaw tried to hit him, and Rex moved to the left. He saw a bottle of rum on the table, picked it up and bashed Hacksaw over the head.

"Now you really have made me mad," growled Hacksaw as he kicked Rex against the wall. He grabbed the cat by the neck, and was about to deliver a killing blow when Rex drew his pistol and shot him in the chest.

Hacksaw fell to the floor, and did not move. Rex limped toward the door, but was stopped when he felt a tremendous pain in his back. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Hacksaw holding the tire iron.

"Go to hell, Rex," growled Hacksaw.

Rex fell to the floor, as Hacksaw stabbed him once more, to make sure he was dead.

Horrified by what he had witnessed, Kit opened the vent, and whispered for Molly to stay hidden.

Kit moved near Hacksaw, who was groaning in pain from the bullet. The pirate's eyes locked onto the young cub. Both stared at one another.

"I take it you want to save Baloo," Hacksaw said, holding back a painful laugh. Kit wanted to make him pay for those words, but he needed him to help fly the Vulture.

"You will tell me how to fly this thing," Kit ordered pulling out the Desert Eagle, aiming at Hacksaw.

"What if I don't?" Hacksaw replied. Kit stood there with his finger on the trigger, watching the dingo hoist himself to his feet.

"If you don't, then I will shoot you in the knees," Kit said in a threatening tone, "and I'll leave you here." Kit didn't see the dingo reach for a knife on the shelf.

Hacksaw knew he had to make Kit drop his guard, so he told him how to fly the Iron Vulture. "You put it to auto pilot, setting it's movement on the giro panel, and then set the landing gear with that switch," Hacksaw said pointing out the basics. Kit turned around and headed for the controls.

"I'll open the emergency exit door so I can dump old Rex out," Hacksaw said with a dark smile. He was not only going to dump Rex, but Kit as well.

As Kit set the location for the Iron Vulture, Hacksaw pulled out the knife and rushed the unsuspecting cub. Kit turned in time to see the knife coming down on him. Hacksaw stabbed him in the left shoulder and dragged him toward the open door. Kit could hear Molly screaming his name.

"Say hello to Viper for me," Hacksaw laughed. Molly screamed for Kit to fight back. And with a sudden move he grabbed Rex's knife, and slashed Hacksaw across his wrist. The dingo gave a cry of pain as he let go of the knife.

"Say hello to Viper yourself," he said picking up his Desert Eagle, and fired three rounds off. Each bullet hit its mark. Two in the chest, and one across the side of the neck.

Hacksaw stood there for a second, looking shocked, but then he fell backwards out the open door. Kit and Molly waited for the Iron Vulture to make landing, and then made their way to the fort.

When they arrived, they saw a light in the hut but no one was standing guard. Kit left Molly by the fort walls as he went inside to get Baloo. As he entered, something hit him on the back of the head, and everything went dark.


	13. The doctor comes knocking

Several hours later Kit awoke to a soft touch on his cheek and a smooth voice at his ear. "Wake up, young one," murmured Lotta, with a smile that made his fur stand up. "You killed Hacksaw. You would make a fine addition to Karnage's crew." Then she kissed him on the cheek, but it made Kit shudder in fear.

"Lotta, I think Kit would make a good crew member," Karnage said, as he marched through the door. The rest of the buccaneers entered the hut, looking chagrined that their airship had been stolen by a twelve-year-old cub. Ratchet entered the hut, his left arm wrapped in native bandages, and his eyes burned at Kit.

"Where are my friends?" Kit asked.

"After the battle my crew and I went to the village to regroup, when Mad Dog came in and told me that the Iron Vulture was gone, and Hacksaw was dead. So Lotta and I order every one back to the fort to kill the survivors. No one was here so we decided to take it over. When you and little Molly came here, I hit you over the head."

Kit realized that Molly was not in the hut and tried to get up, but a sharp pain in his left shoulder reminded him of what Hacksaw did to him. Kit started to cry, but Karnage barked at him to stop.

"Never cry Kit, never, ever cry. To me it's a sign of weakness," Karnage said pushing Kit to lie down and rest. Dumptruck saw the cub shivering realizing the stab wound would lead to infection.

"Drink this," Dumptruck ordered, passing him a bowl full of light red liquid. The cub stared at it with confusion.

"What is it," Kit asked, trying to swallow his sobs, his voice shaking.

"It's an old native remedy, used for infection and pain," Dumptruck said as he made Kit drink the stuff. He hated the taste of the drink, but it felt so good as it went down his throat.

"Where is Molly?" Kit demanded after he finished the drink. Karnage turned to Mad Dog, giving him a nod. Mad Dog left the hut and came back with Molly. The little cub had a bruise on her cheek.

Slowly, Lotta took a knee next to Molly. "Who hit you?" she asked.

Molly pointed at one of the pirates. Lotta had to make the others know the punishment for striking a child on her island. So she approached the pirate, drew her stone dagger, and plunged it into his heart.

Ratchet now realized if they were going to find the treasure, then Kit, Molly and Lotta had to be removed from the picture. He and twelve other pirates drew their weapons, ready to kill the cubs and Lotta, but Mad Dog, Dumptruck, Gibber, and Karnage stood in their way.

Ratchet demanded that they should get out of his way, but Karnage and the others would not hear of it.

"Look, if you kill the cubs then we won't have any leverage when Baloo and the others come back," Mad Dog said, but Ratchet had made up his mind.

With a dramatic flourish, Karnage pulled out the real map and threw it on the floor in front of Ratchet and his men. When they saw the map, all talk of killing him and the others ceased. Karnage turned to Kit and gave him a sly smile. The men passed the map around with shaking hands, as Kit laid back down to rest.

Later that night, Lotta and Karnage cared for Kit's wound. Memories of meeting Karnage and his crew ran through his mind. He realized that not all pirates were bad, because the ones that stood up for him showed great loyalty.

"Why, boss," Mad Dog asked, "why did you give up the map like that?"

"I did it to save us from the mutiny," he said firmly. Soon everyone went to sleep, but not Karnage. He was determined to keep the ones he cared for alive.

Kit woke early that morning, and saw that his wound was almost healed. He was sore, but not in pain. Then someone began shouting from behind the fort's walls.

"Karnage, I wish to enter." Karnage looked out the hut's door and saw that it was Dr. Sinian.

"Hello, doctor," Karnage called out, "why do you think I would let you in?" he asked. But Dr. Sinian did not give him an answer; she just walked toward the fort even when the pirates were threatening to shoot her.

"Well, time to put this dumb bimbo down," Ratchet snickered through his teeth. As he took aim at the doctor, Lotta put her knife to his throat.

"If you fire one shot, I will kill you where you stand," Lotta threatened. Ratchet slowly lowered his rifle, and Lotta sheathed her knife.

When Dr. Sinian entered the fort, she was happy to see Kit and Molly, but then frowned. Kit could tell that she was upset with him and Molly for running away.

"I just came to see if you are taking your medicine," Sinian said. Looking at Lotta, she got a nod, Mad Dog, Dumptruck, and Gibber gave a nod too. "And what about you, Don Karnage?" she asked.

"Me," he replied, "I take it like a soldier every day."

"You better let me look at Ratchet, because I can see that he looks rather sick," Sinian calmly said. "Let me see your tongue."

"I feel fine," Ratchet said not making any eye contact with the doctor.

"Come on, stick out your tongue," Dr. Sinian ordered. Ratchet did as he was told. "Your tongue is fit to frighten the French. We must deal with this now," Dr. Sinian said, and pulled some pills from her bag. But Ratchet only pushed them away.

"Karnage, would you give me some help with this one?" she asked, rather annoyed. Karnage looked at Dumptruck and snapped his fingers. Without warning, Dumptruck grabbed Ratchet from the back and forced his mouth open. Dr. Sinian took the pills and shoved them down his throat.

"Now that I took care of your man here, I would like to speak with Kit and Molly," Sinian said firmly. Karnage did not trust the doctor and went with them. When they got outside, Sinian asked Kit why'd he run off with Molly.

"We did it to help Baloo, and we hid the Vulture at the north pass," Kit said. Then Karnage stepped forward.

"May I have a word with Dr. Sinian?" he asked. Kit nodded and moved aside. Karnage informed her that he was going to return Molly, so that she would not get in his way, but then he and Dr. Sinian had a private talk.

When they were through, Dr. Sinian took Molly, and gave Kit some advice. He was to stay by Karnage and Lotta at all times. Then she shook his hand, winked, and walked off into the jungle.

Something was up, but Kit knew better than to say anything. If there was a plan—and he knew that there was—it would be best to keep quiet.

Kit could hear Ratchet shouting at Karnage for letting Molly go, but he was silenced by a slap from Lotta.

"You will not talk that way to Karnage," Lotta snapped. Ratchet did not say anything else. Soon the pirates packed up their tools, and tied a rope around Kit, so if he tried to run Karnage would stop him. Then they all marched into the jungle to find the treasure.


End file.
